Grady Vanderhoofven of Meritus Ventures was the guest speaker at the February meeting of the Innovation Valley Technology Council. Mr. Vanderoofven presented an outstanding summary of Venture Capital in the State of Tennessee relative to the VC hot spots across the country as well as in the southeastern US.  While venture capital has tightened up along with every other funding source, Grady presents statistics that show the huge economic impact that venture backed companies have on job creation and the creation of wealth in a local community.  

The general outline of the presentation covers these main topics:

1. General overview of venture capital investing
2. Importance of the timing of the state legislation creating the Tennessee Investment Companies (TNInvestco's)
3. Statistics of the Venture Capital Industry
4. Economic Impact of Venture Capital

 Keys points of the presentation:

• The Drifting Sweet Spot - the "sweet spot" for VC is migrating toward Expansion and Later Stage companies, and away from Seed and Early Stage companies
• Venture Capital is contracting - There were only 725 new VC deals in the US in 2009, the lowest since the early 90's
• VC Activity in 2009
  • 27% made no investments
  • 71% made 3 or fewer investments
• Most think 2010 will look similar to 2009
• Tennessee companies get 0.5% of US VC on average since 1995
• Economic Impact of Venture Capital
  • between 1070 - 2001, every $1 of VC generated over $10 revenue. 
  • For every $25k invested by a VC, one job was created.

Great quotes from Grady:

"As far as job creation goes... entrepreneurs are the secret sauce."

"Entrepreneurs are the spark plugs in the engine of the US economy."

Enjoy the presentation:

Venture Capital In The Tennessee Valley Corridor from Shawn Carson on Vimeo.

Grady Vanderhoofven of Meritus Ventures shares a comprehensive report on the status of Venture Capital in Tennessee. Mr. Vanderhoofven was the guest speaker at The Innovation Valley Technology Council.